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More Oromo Deaths At Protests In Ethiopia

 
In this photo taken on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, people run during a stampede in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Violence flared again Monday in Ethiopia's restive Oromia region, where dozens of people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press.
In this photo taken on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, people run during a stampede in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Violence flared again Monday in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region, where dozens of people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press. | AP Photo
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In this photo taken on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, shoes lie on the ground after a stampede in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Violence flared again Monday in Ethiopia's restive Oromia region, where dozens of people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press.
In this photo taken on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, shoes lie on the ground after a stampede in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Violence flared again Monday in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region, where dozens of people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press. | AP Photo
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In this photo taken on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, Ethiopian soldiers try to stop protesters in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Violence flared again Monday in Ethiopia's restive Oromia region, where dozens of people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press.
In this photo taken on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, Ethiopian soldiers try to stop protesters in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Violence flared again Monday in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region, where dozens of people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press. | AP Photo
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In this photo taken on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, people run during a stampede in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Violence flared again Monday in Ethiopia's restive Oromia region, where dozens of people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press.
In this photo taken on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, shoes lie on the ground after a stampede in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Violence flared again Monday in Ethiopia's restive Oromia region, where dozens of people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press.
In this photo taken on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, Ethiopian soldiers try to stop protesters in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Violence flared again Monday in Ethiopia's restive Oromia region, where dozens of people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns of Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press.

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Over the weekend at least 50 people died in a stampede that took place at an Oromo religious festival in Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia’s Oromo are the country’s largest ethnic group. They’ve staged protests against the government for the last several years over what they say is growing marginalization and persecution by the government, as well as loss of their farmland. Activists say that the stampede began after the police fired shots into the crowd when gatherers began shouting an anti-government slogan. 

Charles Schaefer, chair of the International Studies Department at Valparaiso University, joins us to discuss the recent violence.

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